JP Hero Run takes off March 28

The 2020 JP Hero Run is set for March 28 with registration starting at 5pm and go time 6pm at the Garapan Fishing Base. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Organizers of this year’s JP Hero Run hope to exceed if not match the more than 1,700 registered runners during the revamped event’s inaugural staging last year.

The 2020 JP Hero Run is set for March 28 with registration starting at 5am and go time at 6am at the Garapan Fishing Base, according to TanHoldings Corp. Community Relations director Carline Sablan.

“We had a phenomenal turnout last year with just over 1,700 registered participants! We hope for another stellar turnout!” she told Saipan Tribune.

Sablan said runners that are 10 years and under will be entered in the 1.5K race, while participants 11 years and above will be entered in the 5K race. The top 3 male and female finishers in each age category and overall will receive medals.

The 1.5K turnaround is in front of True Value Hardware on Beach Road and the 5K turnaround is just south of the Beach Road-Quartermaster Road Intersection.

The 2020 JP Hero Run will also award prizes to top finishers in six age categories—11-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60+.

Sablan said the JP Hero Run was originally the JP Memorial Walk and that TanHoldings is staging the event in memory of the former Saipan Tribune publisher John “JP” Pangelinan.

“This is the 12th annual run honoring the memory of John ‘JP’ Pangelinan, and we are excited to keep the tradition going. A former publisher for the Saipan Tribune, JP was a dear friend and colleague for many at TanHoldings. The JP Hero Run serves a dual purpose—to keep the memory of JP alive and to contribute to the local fight against cancer,” she said.

Event proceeds will once again benefit the Marianas March Against Cancer and the Commonwealth Cancer Association.

This year organizers have also introduced an online registration feature in their registration process. Sablan said it can be accessed through http://bit.ly/registerjpherorun2020.

Registration can also be done the traditional way in person by visiting the Tan Holdings Corporate Affairs Office on the 2nd Floor of the JP Center in Garapan. The registration fee up to 12pm on March 27 is $10. The fee for registration on race day goes up $5 to $15.

Shirts, bibs, capes, and masks may be picked up at the Tan Holdings Corporate Affairs Office on weekdays in March from 9am to 12pm; 1pm to 5pm and between 5am and 6am at the Garapan Fishing Base on race day.

All participants will be entered in a raffle for a chance to win a roundtrip ticket to Manila and other fabulous prizes.

The 2020 JP Hero Run is brought to you by TanHoldings Corp. and its philanthropic arm Tan Siu Lin Foundation. The Triathlon Association of the CNMI will also assist in the timing of runners.

Last year, Kosuke Sato and Heather Taylor were the overall first place finishers in the JP Hero Run’s 5K men’s and women’s divisions, while Markus Toves and Kaithlyn Chavez topped the 1.5K event. Other first place finishers were 13 to 19’s Bailey Spaeth and Stella McCallion; 20 to 29’s J. Cheng and Taylor Nowicki; 30 to 39’s Charlie Sendin and Sheila Isla; 40 to 49’s Ronald Villafria and Ayano Braxton; 50 to 59’s Jun Hashimoto and Sakiko Eda; and over 60’s Steve Pixley and Amalia Harris.

For more information on 2020 JP Hero Run, call 235-0561 ext. 100/166 or email corporate_affairs@tanholdings.com.